The Little Mermaid

Far beneath the sea stood the palace of the Sea King. Its windows were made of the clearest amber, and bright shells opened and closed like flowers. The Sea King had six daughters, each a little princess with a garden of her own. The youngest was the Little Mermaid. Her garden held a statue of a smiling boy that had fallen from a ship, and she often sat beside it, dreaming about the world above.

The sisters were allowed to rise to the surface one by one when they turned fifteen. Each returned with stories: of green forests, of towns lit with a thousand lamps, of dolphins racing ships, and of the sun that warmed their faces. The Little Mermaid listened and wished. She wanted to see everything and, most of all, to learn about humans.

On the day she turned fifteen, she rose up through the water like a bubble and found the night sky filled with stars. A great ship sailed by, hung with lanterns. Music played, and people danced. They were celebrating the birthday of a young prince. He stood at the rail, and the Little Mermaid thought he looked kind and brave.

A storm roared suddenly out of the dark. Waves rose as high as towers. The ship snapped and cracked. When it sank, the Little Mermaid swam through the foaming water and found the prince sinking, eyes closed. She held his head above the waves and carried him toward the shore. Morning light touched the sea as she laid him near the steps of a white temple. Bells began to ring. A young girl from the temple came out and found him. He opened his eyes, saw the girl, and smiled, never knowing who had saved him. The Little Mermaid hid behind rocks until he was safe, then slipped back into the sea.

She could not forget the prince, nor the warm world of the sun. She asked her grandmother about humans. The old sea woman stroked the Little Mermaid's hair and said, 'We live for three hundred years, child. But when our time ends, we become sea foam and disappear. Humans live fewer years, yet they have immortal souls that rise to the stars. We do not have that.'

The Little Mermaid longed for the prince, but she longed even more for an immortal soul. 'If a human loved me so truly that I became his wife,' said the grandmother, 'his soul would flow into mine, and I would share his forever. But that cannot be for a mermaid without great cost.'

The Little Mermaid swam to a dark, twisted part of the sea where the water plants clutched like hands. There lived the Sea Witch, in a house made from the bones of shipwrecks. The witch knew what the Little Mermaid wanted. 'I will give you a potion,' she said. 'Drink it on land, and your tail will split into two legs. You will walk and dance like no one else. But every step will feel as if you are treading on sharp knives. You will keep your grace but lose your voice—your lovely voice is my price. And remember: you can never be a mermaid again. If the prince marries you, you will gain a human soul. If he marries another, at dawn after his wedding you will become sea foam.'

The Little Mermaid's heart trembled, but she thought of the prince and the bright world above. She agreed. The witch took her voice, and a silence fell over the sea as heavy as stone. With the potion in her hands, the Little Mermaid swam to the shore.

She drank it as the sun rose. A fierce pain swept through her, and she fainted on the sand. When she woke, the prince stood over her. He saw a girl with eyes as deep as the sea. He wrapped her in a cloak and brought her to his palace. She could not speak, but she smiled and moved with such lightness that all were amazed. Musicians played, and she danced for him, lovely as a flame—though every step felt like walking on sharp blades.

The prince grew fond of the silent girl and kept her near. He said, 'You remind me of someone I once saw. I owe my life to a sweet girl who found me by a temple. If I could ever find her again, I would make her my princess.' The Little Mermaid's heart shook, but she stayed by his side, hoping he would come to love her best.

Soon, the prince sailed to a neighboring kingdom to meet a young princess. He told the Little Mermaid he did not expect to love another as he loved the girl from the temple. Yet when he met the princess, he stared in wonder—for she was the very same girl who had found him on the shore. He believed she had saved him from the sea. His joy was great, and he declared he would marry her.

The wedding took place on board a grand ship, under fluttering flags. Music danced on the wind. The Little Mermaid smiled bravely, though every step burned, and her heart felt like breaking. She knew that at dawn, if she was not the bride, she would become sea foam.

That night, her sisters rose from the sea. Their long hair had been cut away. 'We gave our hair to the Sea Witch,' they cried, 'and she gave us this knife. If you plunge it into the prince's heart before dawn and let his blood fall upon your feet, your tail will return, and you will be a mermaid again. You will be safe.'

The Little Mermaid took the knife and crept to where the prince lay sleeping beside his new bride. She looked at his kind face and the princess's peaceful smile. She lifted the knife—and then let it fall. She could not hurt him. She kissed his forehead, slipped out to the deck, and threw the knife into the dark water. The sea flashed red where it fell. Then she leaped into the waves. The first light of dawn touched the horizon, and her body became shining foam.

But she did not vanish. She felt herself rise like a spark. Around her floated bright, airy spirits with gentle smiles. 'We are the Daughters of the Air,' they whispered. 'Because you tried with a pure and loving heart, you do not fade. We fly on the winds and bring coolness and comfort to the world. For three hundred years we do good, and then we, too, may gain an immortal soul.'

The Little Mermaid looked down at the ship, at the prince and his bride waking to a new day, and she felt no anger. She lifted her light hands and joined the Daughters of the Air. They told her, 'When we see kindness—when children smile and help one another—our time grows shorter. When unkindness brings tears, our time grows longer. So we watch and we hope.'

Carried by the bright morning wind, the Little Mermaid began her new journey, full of quiet work and wide skies, with hope shining like the sun over the sea.